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Honesty is the best policy

There are times I’m not honest with people..usually if I don’t want to hurt some one’s feelings, I’ll lie to them.  Why ? Because the truth hurts sometimes.  But…there are a lot of occasions where the truth wouldn’t hurt but a lie would, yet we will not be honest in fear that we will be judged.  I see it happen all the time.. mothers lying through their teeth to other mothers.  Why ? I guess because we as mothers don’t want to appear as if we are struggling with raising our children.  We want to look like we’ve got it all together, do it all, balance it all.   Whether we are working, staying at home, working part-time, we all want to do everything right.  We want to enjoy every minute that we spend with our children, love our jobs, be good cooks and housekeepers, have the laundry done, and look somewhat put together while doing it. Who wouldn’t want this ?  The truth is, we don’t enjoy every minute we spend with our children, but we can’t say that.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids more than anything but when I’m in the grocery store and my kids are screaming, throwing things, and not listening to a word I say..I’m not exactly enjoying it.  That is one of those embarrassing parenting moments where you feel like everyone is looking at you and forming opinions about what kind of mother you are..when in reality most mothers have been there at some point.

How about having company over.  After hosting several parties in my home I’ve started to really feel like it’s a crock of shit.  We’ll spend hours upon hours cleaning, vacuuming, dusting, cooking, primping, analyzing every square inch of our home,  all for what ?  So we can try to show everyone how perfect and spotless our houses look, show them how we managed to clean, cook a meal from scratch, and still have time to do our hair and put on make-up.   Why can’t we just pick up a little, throw some jeans on and order take-out or do something that doesn’t look like it required hours in the kitchen and focus on the actual “visit” with other people.

I remember feeling like a total failure after the birth of both of my children..especially my first one, all because I couldn’t get them to sleep well. My second one actually screamed for what seemed like hours every night.  I was exhausted all the time and I spoke to many many mothers about their children’s sleep habits.  It seemed like everyone around me had babies who “slept through the night” by 3 or 4 months old, some even 4 weeks.  I felt like I was doing something wrong, like it had to be my fault. What was I doing that was making my baby want to stay up and scream for half the night ?  I got a lot of advice and most of it didn’t help. It actually just made me feel worse because none of it ever worked and I started to feel like people were just shaking their finger at me telling me what I was doing was obviously wrong.  Looking back, I think I opened myself up and welcomed every one’s opinions a little too much. I wish I would have had more confidence and realized that if anyone knew what was best for my baby, it would be me. So…..

If you see a woman in the store with kids that are screaming or going nuts,  flash her a warm smile that say, “I’ve been there before”.

If you are talking to a new mom who can’t get her baby to sleep and is exhausted, tell her that it will be okay and that this too shall pass.  Tell her she is doing a good job.

If you host a dinner or a party and one of your guests compliments you on your home or your cooking, thank them but maybe be honest with them if you had to clean for 5hrs straight to get your house to look like that, tell them the truth if you (gasp) bought the food you served and didn’t cook it.

Let me also clarify, I’m not saying that we should leave dirty dishes and laundry all over every flat surface and not shower when someone is coming over, but it seems like there is so much time and energy put into trying to make our homes and lives appear to be “perfect” when in reality they are not. Again, I’m not knocking those who enjoy cooking a good meal or hosting a party, nor do I think that we all need to air our dirty laundry during conversations.  I’m trying to say that I think we’d all feel better about ourselves and feel less guilt if we could just be honest with each other and stop fearing that we will be judged for it.

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By Erin – September 1, 2010

My adventures in cloth diapering

I entered this world a little late. I didn’t start cloth diapering until my second son was about 9 months old.  What got me into it was the fact that I was diapering 2 children and spending a fortune on disposable diapers.  We were looking for ways to cut costs and honestly the spoiled brat in me didn’t want to give up cable.  I researched a little online and found Smartipants It really is a chunk of change to get everything you need to do this.  However when you look at what you’ll be saving in the long run, it is definitely worth it. What sold me was the fact that they had a started package for $36.  My husband also wanted me to try it out before we invested a lot of money in it.  Plus, I figured if I liked it, I could keep all of them and cloth diaper our next baby from day one, by the time that baby is potty trained, I will have saved a fortune.

I got them within a few days and started diapering my 9 month old Jack with them.  I liked it, they were really cute and seemed to have pretty good absorbency.  I’m going to be honest with you about the poop.  It can be pretty gross, but then again changing a poopy diaper in general whether cloth or disposables is gross.  Usually, I’d just dump the contents into the toilet before throwing the diaper in the diaper hamper.  Occasionally though, I have to “wipe” the solids off the diaper with a small handful of toilet paper.  Not my favorite thing to do, but I’ve quickly gotten used to it and I’m able do it all pretty quickly now.   As far as washing, I’d start with a cold rinse, then a hot wash with my regular detergent, followed by 2 more hot rinses.  Then I’d put them in the dryer.

Jack got a pretty bad diaper rash that required a prescription cream.  I made the mistake of not using a disposable liner while he needed the cream and I ended up getting a build up of diaper ointment and my diapers began to leak and repel.  Not cool, not cool at all.  I also realized that I was using too much detergent there was a build up of that as well which was also contributing to the leaking and repelling.  I got pretty frustrated considering I’d invested money and time into this and I felt like these diapers were not dependable and just causing more work for me because Jack’s onesies were soaked all the time and James would wake up in the morning with bed sheets full of pee that I’d then have to strip and wash. I broke down and bought a box of disposables to use until I could figure out how to fix the issues with the cloth diapers.

After doing some reading online and chatting with other moms who cloth diapered I realized that there were several mistakes I was making.  I needed to find a cloth diaper friendly detergent.  A lot of regular detergents have softener, perfumes, and other additives that will build up in the diapers and cause them to leak and repel liquid.  I wanted to find a detergent that was sold in stores and not something I’d always have to order online.  I ended up finding a website that had a cloth diapering detergent chart that analyzes many different detergent choices and rates them from best to worst to help you find the best choice.  I also leaned that stripping the diapers with Dawn dishsoap would help rid them of the build ups that were causing the leaking.

The first time I stripped them, I don’t think the water was hot enough and I don’t think I did enough rinses so I was still noticing leaking.  I re-stripped the diapers and bought a roll of 100 disposable liners.  Whenever I need to use diaper ointment I make sure to always put in a disposable liner to avoid getting a build up.  I am currently using “All Small and Mighty” detergent but I’m still looking around to find the one that I think will work the best.  When I wash I make sure to do several hot rinses after the wash is complete to make sure all the detergent is out.  Also, making sure to get the diapers in the creases of his legs seems to also be making a difference.  So, as of now we are doing better and the cloth diapering is back on and working better around here.

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By Erin – August 29, 2010

Single parenthood

Husband has been out of town for work this week and I’ve been flying solo with the boys.  My daytime hours are still the same, it’s that time between the afternoon nap wake up and bedtime that things get a little intense.  When he’s out of town, it makes me realize how insanely dependent I am on him between the hours of 6 and 8pm.  It’s just 2 hours right ? Well, not exactly.  I’m usually exhausted and beyond ready for a break.  The boys..they are re-charged from their nap, they are hungry for dinner, and they are ready to play and tear the house apart…the house I just cleaned up while they were napping.  Usually the husband comes in from work and takes over playing with the boys and I can get a break from the intensity of a 3yr old and 1yr old.

Then after dinner we can tag team them until bedtime.  Sometimes one of us will run an errand and take one of the kids with us.  Sometimes husband will be trying to get laid that night, so he’ll take both boys to Home Depot with him and let me have the house to myself.  At 8pm we put them to bed together.  So when he’s out of town, I have to get creative with those evening hours.  Also, my good friend Jill@Babyrabies gave me some very useful advice for when things get crazy and I’m ready to rip my hear out.  “It’s all about survival, all you have to do is keep them alive, whatever it takes.”  I’ve been saying this to myself when I start noticing how messy the house is, realize that they have not had a bath in 2 days, and see a huge pile of laundry.  I remember that I’m solo and I don’t have to “do it all” All I have to do is take care of the kids, if the other stuff gets done, great.  If not, oh well.

Pro:  When Husband is out of town I don’t cook.  The kids and I are perfectly happy having sandwiches, yogurt, and mandarin oranges for dinner..or we’ll go to McDonald’s Play land.

Con:  Even with the most simple meals, the clean up it still brutal, especially when doing it alone.

Pro:  I don’t have that little voice inside my head telling me to clean up a bit before he comes home.

Con: I don’t have that little voice inside my head telling me to clean up a bit before he comes home, I slack off and pay for it later.

Pro:  One less adult in the house creating dirty laundry.

Con: One less adult in the house…I’m outnumbered by the kids.

Pro:  The TV is MINE.  After the kids are in bed I get to watch several of my trashy reality tv shows.

Con: I stay up too late watching tv.

Pro:  I’m more likely to call one of the grandparents for back up and might luck out and get the whole night off.

Con:  The guilt.

So, there are some perks that I enjoy a bit when he’s out of town but I have to admit I’m very happy when he walks through the door, the kids run to him and I can sigh with some relief.

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By Erin – August 19, 2010

Failing

If this was a class and I was being graded today on being a wife and mom, I’d get a big fat F in red pen, with a “see me after class” written at the bottom of my paper. If this was a job with a boss, a paycheck, and a healthplan, I’d get a write up handed to me along with some other kind of disciplinary action.  I suck right now, I suck at everything I’m doing. (Cue the violins while I tell you why)

I suck at being a mom today, I’ve yelled at the kids too much, I’ve let them watch too much tv, and they are behaving like animals…probably because they are bored.  I suck with money. I always go over the grocery budget and I still have not found a way to successfully make money inside the home.  I thought I’d be able to babysit during the day for extra money and I don’t know now. I ended up putting my 3yr old in pre-school 2 mornings a week earlier than I’d originally planned after the birth of my second child because I needed help…with just my 2 kids and needed that break.   Am I capable of adding more ?

The laundry is never done, our clothes are wrinkled. My husband goes to work in wrinkled clothes because his stay at home wife who doesn’t work can’t get the F*&%ing laundry done !  Shit gets lost. My kids get into EVERYTHING therefore I can’t find ANYTHING. The house is too small, yet I’m not babysitting or doing anything else to get more $…we go in a circle.  I make no $ yet I’m exhausted from working.  I started cloth diapering to save $ and now the damn things won’t stop leaking. I’ve stripped them, bought a cloth diaper friendly detergent, and it is not working. I can’t quit doing it because I’ve already committed/invested in it and it works for everyone else, so I’m just not doing it right.  I’m also sick of constantly touching shit and getting soaked with pee because they won’t absorb anything anymore !!! Right now my cloth diapering adventure = huge fail. My kids have not had a bath in almost 4 days because I’ve been too tired to give them one at night.  I have nothing planned for dinner and everyone will be hungry in 2hrs. I’ve never seen anyone’s high chair look as disguisting as mine does, but after spending 20 minutes cleaning up after dinner, the kids have already trashed the living room again.   I want to run away somewhere and do nothing but take a hot bath and a nap..for several days.

I’m stuck and I can’t quit.  I need to do more but I need help with what I’m already doing.

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By Erin – August 16, 2010

My guilty pleasure

I’m admitting to a serious addiction to reality tv shows.  Actually, I’ll call it a guilty pleasure or maybe just my form of entertainment.  I don’t get out much these days, at all.  My outings/social life consist mainly of play dates, c0-oping for my son’s pre-school class, YMCA activities, and the occasional dinner date with the husband.  I don’t really have a lot of friends that I go out with on a regular basis for dinner, drinks, or movies.  So, when the kids go to bed and usually when I should be cleaning or doing laundry, I watch my reality shows that I have on the DVR (one of the greatest inventions ever) It is my entertainment/escape.  My husband regularly points out to me that I’m watching morons who are famous for nothing make total asses out of themselves on national television….yeah, he’s kind of right.  For some reason, I enjoy watching people’s personal drama about their private lives. It is a lot of pointless, mindless entertainment that very well may be lowering my IQ as I watch it, but I love it and I can’t get enough of it.  So, here it is.  For all you other reality tv junkies out there these are the ones that I’m watching now or have watched in the past. Some of these are just downright embarrassing to admit that I watch.

Real Housewives of New Jersey – I’ve also watched Orange County and New York, but this is the one that I’m watching now.  They are a bunch of filthy rich women with more money than they know what to do with, and yes some of them are just bat shit crazy.  Their lives are by no means perfect, but they have the advantage of some serious high end retail therapy after a fight with the husband. They have their issues with their families and friends and viewers just get an inside look at all their dirty laundry..and their walk in Prada and Channel filled closets !

Teen Mom – Yeah this one is a little embarrasing.  It’s a spin off from mtv’s 16 and Pregnant.  We followed the lives of several girls who got pregnant as teenagers and watched their struggles with their baby’s fathers, parents, friends and classmates.  It showed the dark side of teen pregnancy and parenting and emphasized that having a baby is F#$%ing hard.  Some of the relationships lasted, some crumbled from the stress and pressures of having a child.  It’s actually a little sad and somewhat depressing, but pretty real.

Kortney and Khloe take Miami/Keeping up with the Kardashians – I actually once heard someone refer to this show as the E channel’s latest bowel movement, lol.  I did get hooked into the drama of Kortney and her on again off again boyfriend Scott.  One thing about this show that I love, the clothes/the fashion.  I’m a junkie with fashion magazines and I’m always wanting to at least know and look at the latest trends, even if I’m just flipping through a magazine wearing my jeans and t-shirt covered with spit-up and peanut butter and this show is great for that.  What I wouldn’t give to get into one of these girl’s closets !!

19 kid’s and counting aka The Duggars – Ok there is something just totally weird yet intriguing about a woman who has birthed 19 children yet she has such a zen like demeanor.  One my rough days struggling with my 2 kids I do sometimes think about how she’s gotten through many more days with many more kids…so surely I can get a grip

Jon and Kate plus 8/Kate plus 8 – I watched from the beginning of filming and like the Duggar show, I liked seeing how she juggled 8 kids and a marriage.  Then, I watched the marriage fall apart and the show turn into Kate plus 8 and now it’s just weird, and sad..I wanted them to make it !

So there you have it, my guilty pleasure, my entertainment, my escape.  I’m sure it may seem a little pathetic but thanks to my dvr and husband for being just as addicted to cable as I am, I’m able to watch them. What shows do you watch ? Anyone else like these too ?

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By Erin – August 14, 2010

First birthday party, again.

My second son Jack has officially turned one.  We had the party full of pizza, cake, party favors, presents, friends and family, and a good time was had by all.  After hosting my several kid related parties in my home, I’ve learned my lesson..for now anyway. It’s better to have the party somewhere else !  My husband has a pretty large family so there is really no such thing as a small get together.  Inviting immediate family and a few close friends makes for about 30 people, that’s a lot of food, drinks, plates, cups, napkins, etc…It always seemed like the cleaning the day before, the money spent, and the inevitable arguing between my husband and I sucked a lot of the fun out of the party.  We tried my oldest son’s 2nd bday party at a local family pizza joint with a pretty laid back atmosphere and a game room for the kids.  It went over very well, so we returned for Jack’s 1st party.  All I did was make a cake, some party favors and show up.  I put the party favors for the kiddos and the cake out on the table, ordered the pizza’s and that was it.  I got to spend the party talking with everyone and playing with the kids, not worrying about running out of food and drinks or looking for extra chairs to make sure everyone had a place to sit, keeping my house intact, and most importantly…I was not a stressed out mess from cooking, cleaning, and prepping my house for a party. I actually got to spend time doing the things I enjoy doing to get ready for it, making his birthday cake and putting together party favors.

This was my third time using fondant. I don’t think it turned out too bad for an amateur.

To go with the “sports theme” each little one got to take home a sports water bottle. I also threw in a snack container filled with gerber graduate cereal puffs, and in my experience toddlers will fight each other to get their hands on some of these things.

The birthday boy had no trouble putting away a piece of birthday cake

After everyone had cake we said good-bye to the guests, packed up the gifts and left.  We arrived home and were able to relax and not deal with a huge clean up. I do however wish that I would have taken a picture of the floor right underneath our table.  Next time, I’ll bring a trash bag or drop cloth to put down.  A bunch of toddlers and pre-school age kids eating pizza and birthday cake makes for a pretty big clean up, one that I didn’t have to do !

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By Erin – August 9, 2010

Guilt after bedtime

A lot of nights I find myself crawling on my hands and knees to the finish line which is 8pm, the kids bedtime.  Sometimes all the noise, activity, mess,temper tantrums, whining,etc really start getting to me by the end of the day and I start craving quiet time alone to decompress. I’m guilty of looking forward to their bedtime to get a little down time to myself.

Then I put them to bed.  I clean up,I sit down, surf the net, watch a little tv, put my feet up, doze off, whatever. I then start reflecting on my day and for some reason I start thinking about all the situations that I could have handled differently or better. I think about how I snapped at my 3yr old because he asked me the same question 15 times while I was trying to strap the 1yr old into his car seat while he screamed. I’ll think about how I felt myself loosing my patients with my 1yr old after lunch because he was fed, changed, being played with and all he did was continue to whine.  I’ll think about how I got upset because my 3yr old dumped yogurt all over the floor I just cleaned. These thoughts go on and on, scenarios, situations, all of which I tell myself that I need to try and have more patients and remember that they are just kids, it’s just a house, it’s just a mess.

Then I begin to question what I’m doing. Would my kids be better off in daycare where people are being paid to finger paint, color, and play with play-doh, and do puzzles with them all day long and be completely devoted to them ?  Would they be better off in a place where the people watching them are not also concerned with finishing the laundry, getting dinner ready, and worrying about everything else that needs to be done and maintained around here ? Would they be happier being with people who’s 9-5 job is playing with them and nothing else ?  This is where my guilt sets in. I’ve made the decision to be a stay at home mom and I often question if I am good at it. Am I capable of giving them all the time, attention, and activity that they deserve all day long ? Am I patient enough with them ? Are they really happy being here with me ? What are they going to think when they look back ?

I often wonder if any other stay at home moms ever feel this way, I ‘m also curious about working moms and if they ever feel guilt and question working. I’d love to get some feedback on this one.

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By Erin – August 4, 2010

One year…we made it !

One year ago today my second son Jack joined our family.  I became a mom again for the second time and James became a big brother.  This has without a doubt been the most difficult year of my life but it has also been one of the best.  I was pushed beyond my limits on many occasions but we survived, my husband and I didn’t kill each other, the house is still standing and we did manage to have some fun along the way.  With the blink of an eye I was thrown back into a world of sleep deprivation and diapers accompanied with sippy cups, potty training, temper tantrums and pre-school.  To say it was an adjustment would be an understatement, but looking back there were many accomplishments.  We made it through about 9 BRUTAL months of sleep deprivation, one year of breastfeeding, acid reflux,potty training, teething, sleep training, more  teething, 1st day of pre-school, loosing the baby weight a second time, learning to make baby food, cloth diapering, diaper rashes, learning to grocery shop w/2 children, turning the nursery into the kids room, and watching the 2 boys become brothers.

I became more confident as a mother. I stopped listening to every one’s opinions on what I should do and realized that I really do know what is best for my children and to always go with my gut.

It’s been quite a difficult year and believe me in no way do I think I’ve crossed a finish line, however I think I’ve grown and learned more in this past year than I ever have.  I’ve realized that I’m a lot stronger and capable of a lot more than I ever thought and I truly believe that I have Jack to thank for most of this.

My baby Jack has gone from this

to this

Big brother James has also gone from this

to this

Happy first birthday to my sweet little Jack man !!

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By Erin – July 30, 2010

It’s just noise

The constant noise.  The screaming, yelling, whining, crying, the question why being asked for the 100th time with a whiny tone..it’s just noise right ? Then why does it sometimes feel as if someone is clawing at me ? Why does being in a car with one child whining and one child crying make me feel as if I can’t breathe ? Sometimes I honestly feel like I could discipline better if I had ear plugs in.  Then I could just focus on what I’m trying to say and not loose my ability to think due to a child screaming in my face at a glass shattering volume.   He’s yelling, then sometimes I loose my cool and start yelling, “Stop screaming/whining at me !!”  This never works, he then gets scared because I’ve freaked out and begins to cry, which then automatically makes me feel terrible and I start to cry.

Temper tantrums are difficult to deal with.   They are even more difficult to deal with when you are trying to deal with it, and you have another child in the background who also begins yelling or crying.  I loose my focus of who is doing what along with what I’m supposed to be doing and all I can hear is screaming and noise around me.I’ve spoke to pediatricians, other parents, and read books about discipline….all of which tell me the same thing.  Keeping your cool is a key factor in handling the behavior effectively.  Kneeling down to the child’s level, making eye contact, speaking firm but softly.  I know what I’m supposed to do, but I wish that somewhere there was a chapter about how to keep your focus through all the noise.

When I was younger I had a babysitter who ran an in home day care.  It was always fun as a kid, but now looking back I’ve often wondered how she always kept her cool, because she did.  I really don’t ever remember her yelling or screaming at the kids to be quiet.  A couple of years ago I spoke to her about this and asked.  She told me that she’s almost deaf and as always worn a hearing aide.  When the volume would get to be too much, she’d turn it down on her hearing aid.  Never all the way, but just enough to where she could still hear everyone, just at a much more bearable volume.  Then she said to me, “Just remember it’s only noise.” It really made me laugh to think that this was one of her tricks, but now it makes sense.

“It’s only noise” has now become one of my mantras that I repeat to myself during really intense and loud moments.  It doesn’t always work, but I’m trying.  Are you able to think clearly through the noise ? If so, how do you do it ?

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By Erin – July 26, 2010

First weekend getaway with 2 kids

This was our first mini vacation with 2 kids.  Complete with a drive, hotel room stay, and restaurants. Overall, it was good.  It was a nice weekend away filled with the extreme highs and lows of a 3yr old and 1yr old.  The 3.5 hr drive to the lake was surprisingly pleasant. We were loaded up on snacks, drinks, toys and books and we had the dvd player in the car so when things got restless we could pop in a Baby Einstein or Cat in the hat, big brother’s new favorite.  We made one stop for potty breaks, diaper changes and leg stretches and for a 3.5 hr drive, that seemed to be good enough.  Any longer than that and I’m not sure how many more stops would have been needed.

After we arrived husband and I were unloading bags and trying to get things somewhat organized in the room.  During this time the boys managed to get out almost every toy that we had brought, stomp what looked like a box of cheerios into the carpet, spill milk on the floor, and get slobber and dirty hand prints all over the coffee table and glass window.  Seriously, I should have taken a picture of the carpet with the cheerios.  Husband was pretty appalled at what the room looked like already, I, on the other hand was not at all surprised.

Swimming with the kids was fun, but prepping them to get down to the pool was a chore.  The sun block applications, the swim diapers, the packing of the pool bag, all while trying to “manage” them and get ourselves ready.  By the time we got down there I just wanted to pass out in a lounge chair for a nap, not a chance.  We needed to put on water wings, put the baby in the little float raft, ease them into the water.  It was fun and we took some pictures but after about 20 minutes, the little one was DONE.  After wrestling the older one out we dried them off and took them up to the room for more washing, drying, and changing.  The good thing was that swimming makes for good naps.  They went down, and luckily we had a balcony where we could sit outside and enjoy a drink while the boys napped.  I joined them for a snooze myself after about an hour.

Restaurants with kids are, well, restaurants with kids.  Dinner that first night was in a family friendly restaurant.  It was good food, good visiting with family, but with the kids it was work.  The next morning we did breakfast, took the kids to a place called Miner Mikes which was like a huge game room with some rides, did lunch and swimming then naps.  Now, that evening we did something a little different but looking back, I am sooooooo glad we did.  The two of us wanted to have a drink together and then planned on having dinner with family in the hotel restaurant….sans kids.  This hotel offered babysitting.  The girl was a college student who worked there during the summers at the front desk and at the hotel’s kid adventure club and seemed very sweet.  We had her come to the room and watch the boys so that we could eat a nice meal and actually relax.  She played with the kids for an hour and then they went to bed, so basically she stayed in the room with them while they slept.  Date nights around here are very far and few between.  If we do eat out, it is at McDonalds or Burger King’s play land, so I really wanted to do this.  It is definitely something worth planning/saving for but in the end for us, it was well worth it !  We came back rested and the kids had a playmate for the evening and then were able to go to bed on time and after all the running around and swimming that went on that day, trying to keep them up would have been a disaster.

The next day I really tried to clean the room up as much as I could while packing.  After a quick breakfast and visit with the family we were headed home.  The ride back had a few more bumps in the road than the ride there but was overall alright. Vacationing is definitely different with kids.  The relaxation factor goes down but in a lot of ways the fun factor goes up.  It’s work and there were definitely  moments where were wondering if it was really worth it to do this(like when both kids were over tired screaming and trashing the room), but it is…depending on the trip.  I think one key factor (for us anyway) is space.  With our kids being the ages that they are and with the sleeping habits that they have we do better as a family if we have a little bit of separate space.  I know that this isn’t always possible but what really made things easier for us was the fact that our room had separate space for the boys to sleep in.

We have another trip coming up in September.  We are doing a vacation with a large group of friends and all of their kids.  The fact that it is a 16 hr drive scares the hell out of me, but I think that with a lot of prep and planning we’ll survive and end up having a good time ! I’ve come up with a small list of must have items for car rides with kids.  I’d love to hear other things/ideas that other people have when traveling with little ones.

1. DVD player.  I know this sounds high maintenance and spoiled, but good lord, this thing really came in handy when the kids were sick of the car and started loosing it.

2. Snacks, Snacks, and Snacks.  We did breakfast in the car and LOTS of snacks.  When someone would get a little too restless or cranky a snack was always a good distraction.  Since so many of them were handed out I tried to go as healthy as I could with them.(fruit, yogurt, etc..)

3. Books.  Preferebly some new ones that they have never seen. A trip to the library before leaving was a VERY good idea.

4. Toys.  Of course.  I brought as many car friendly toys that I could find and went to the dollar section in Target to get a few new things.

These are all good ideas for a 3.5 hr car ride but I think the 16 hr one coming up in a few months is going to require MUCH more stuff than this.

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3 comments

By Erin – July 23, 2010

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